the Poet being refolv'd to fave his Heroin's Honour, has fo order'd it, that the King always acts with a great Cafe-Knife stuck in his Girdle, which the Lady fnatches from him in the Struggle, and fo defends her felf.

The Italian Poets, befides the celebrated Smoothness of their Tongue, have a particular Advantage, above the Writers of other Nations, in the difference of their Poetical and Profe Language. There are indeed Sets of Phrases that in all Countries are peculiar to the Poets but among the Italians there are not only Sentences, but a Multitude of particular Words that never enter into common Difcourfe. They have fuch a different Turn and Polishing for Poetical ufe, that they drop feveral of their Letters and appear in another Form, when they come to be rang'd in Verfe. For this Reafon the Italian Opera feldom finks into á Poornefs of Language, but, amidst all the Meannefs and Familiarity of the Thoughts, has fomething beautiful and fonorous in the Expreffion. Without this natural Advantage of the Tongue, their prefent Poetry would appear wretchedly low and vulgar, notwithftanding the many unnatural Allegories that are fo much in ufe among the Writers of this Nation. The English and French that always use the fame Words in Verfe as in ordinary Converfation are forc'd to raise their Language with Metaphors

and

and Figures, or, by the Pompoufness of the whole Phrafe, to wear off any Littlenefs that appears in the particular Parts that compofe it. This makes our Blank Verfe, where there is no Rhime to fupport the Expreffion, extreamly difficult to fuch as are not Mafters in the Tongue, efpecially when they write on low Subjects; and 'tis probably for this Reason that Milton has made ufe of fuch frequent Tranfpofitions, Latinifms, antiquated Words and Phrafes, that he might the better deviate from vulgar and ordinary Expreffions.

The Comedies that I faw at Venice, or indeed in any other Part of Italy, are very indifferent, and more lewd than those of other Countries. Their Poets have no Notion of gentile Comedy, and fall into the most filthy double Meanings imaginable, when they have a Mind to make their Audience merry. There is no Part generally fo wretched as that of the fine Gentleman, especially when he Converses with his Miltrefs; for then the whole Dialogue is an infipid mixture of Pedantry and Romance. But 'tis no wonder that the Pocts of fo Jealous and Reserv'd a Nation fail in fuch Converfations on the Stage, as they have no Patterns of in Nature. There are Four Standing Caracters that enter into every Piece that comes on the Stage, the Doctor, Harlequin, Pantalone and Coviello. The Doctor's Caracter comprehends

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the

the whole Extent of a Pedant, that with a deep Voice, and a Magifterial Air breaks in upon Converfation, and drives down all before him: Every thing he says is back'd with Quotations of Galen, Hippocrates, Plato, Virgil, or any Author that rifes uppermoft, and all Anfwers from his Companion are look'd upon as Impertinencies or Interruptions. Harlequin's Part is made up of Blunders and Abfurdities: He is to mistake one Name for another, to forget his Errands, to ftumble over Queens, and to run his Head against every Poft that ftands in his way. This is all attended with fomething fo Comical in the Voice and Gestures, that a Man, who is fenfible of the Folly of the Part, can hardly forbear being pleas'd with it. PantaloHe is generally an old Cully, and Coviello a Sharper.

I have feen a Tranflation of the Cid a&ted at Bolonia, that would never have taken, had they not found a Place in it for thefe Buffoons. All Four of 'em appear in Masks that are made like the old Roman Perfona, as I fhall have occasion to obferve in another Place. The French and Italians have probably deriv'd this Custom of fhewing fome of their Characters in Masks from the Greek and Roman Theater. The old Vatican Terence has at the Head of every Scene the figures of all the Persons that a re concern'd in it, with the particular Difguifes in which they acted; and I remem

ber

ber to have feen in the Villa Mattheio an Antick Statue mask'd, that was perhaps defign'd for Gnatho in the Eunuch, for it agrees exactly with the Figure he makes in the Vatican Manufcript. One would wonder indeed how fo Polite a People, as the ancient Romans and Athenians, fhould not look on these borrowd Faces as unnatural. They might do very well for a Cyclops, or a Satyr, that can have no Refemblance in Human Features; but for a Flatterer, a Mifer, or the like Characters that abound in our own Species, nothing is more ridiculous than to represent their Looks by a painted Vizard. In Perfons of this Nature the Turns and Motions of the Face are often as agreeable as any part of the Action. Could we fuppofe that a Mask reprefented never fo naturally the general Humour of a Caracter, it can never fuit with the Variety of Paffions that are incident to every fingle Perfon in the whole Courfe of a Play. The Grimace may be proper on fome Occafions, but is too fteady to agree with all. The Rabble indeed are generally pleas'd at the first Entry of a Disguise, but the Jeft grows cold even with them too when it comes on the Stage in a Second Scene.

Since I am on this Subject I can't forbear mentioning a Cuftom at Venice, that they tell me is particular to the common People of this Country, of finging Stanza's out of Taffo. They are fet to a pretty So

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lemn Tune, and when one begins in any part of the Poet, 'tis odds but he will be anfwer'd by fome Body elfe that overhears him So that fometimes you have Ten or a Dozen in the Neighbourhood of one another, taking Verfe after Verfe, and running on with the Poem as far as their Memories will carry them.

On Holy-Thursday, among the feveral Shows that are yearly exhibited, I saw one that is odd enough, and particular to the Venetians. There is a Set of Artifans, that by the help of feveral Poles, which they lay across each others Shoulders, build. themselves up into a kind of Pyramid; fo that you fee a Pile of Man in the Air of Four or Five Rows rifing one above another. The Weight is fo equally diftri buted, that every Man is very well able to bear his part of it, the Stories, if I may fo call 'em, growing lefs and lefs as they advance higher and higher. A little Boy reprefents the Point of the Pyramid, who, after a fhort space, leaps off, with a great deal of Dexterity, into the Arms of one that catches him at the Bottom. In the fame manner the whole Building falls to pieces. I have been the more particular on this, because it explains the following Verfes of Claudian, which fhow that the Venetians are not the Inventors of this Trick.

Vel qui more avium sese jaculantur in auras,

Cer